1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of dental tray shaped devices used to provide a desired dental treatment to a person's teeth. The device can be used for dental treatments such as bleaching, administration of fluoride, or application of other medicines.
2. The Relevant Technology
Virtually all people desire white or whiter teeth. To achieve this goal, people have veneers placed over their teeth or have their teeth chemically bleached. A common bleaching method involves the use of a dental tray that is custom-fitted to a person's teeth and that is therefore comfortable to wear. One type of customized tray is made from a stone cast of a person's teeth. Another is customized directly using a person's teeth as a template (e.g., “boil-and-bite” trays). Non-customized trays that approximate the shapes and sizes of a variety of users' dental arches have also been used. A dental bleaching composition is placed into the tray and the tray placed over the person's teeth for a desired period of time.
Ultimately, the main impediment to successful bleaching is the failure of users to complete the prescribed bleaching regimen. If the bleaching apparatus is difficult to install over a person's teeth, or is uncomfortable to wear, the user may simply give up and prematurely abort the prescribed bleaching regimen.
In view of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for improved bleaching apparatus and methods that are comfortable and easy to use and that reliably remain in position over the user's teeth so as to reduce diffusion of bleaching composition into a user's oral cavity. Such improvements would be expected to improve or encourage compliance by the user.